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Warm weather, drought conditions heighten wildfire risk

The unseasonably warm weather has many Minnesotans scurrying to dig their summer wardrobe out of storage.

But combined with drought conditions across most of the state, the record warm weather also has land managers scrambling to make early preparations for what could be a severe fire season.

Ron Stoffel, a wildfire suppression supervisor for the state Department of Natural Resources, hasn't seen anything like this in over three decades of fighting wildfires in Minnesota. He doesn't like what he sees.

"For the last 35 years this is as dry as we've had it this point in the year," he said.

According to the University of Nebraska's drought monitoring system, 96 percent of Minnesota is under moderate to severe drought conditions. Much of Minnesota is running rainfall deficits of 4 to 10 inches. That has state and federal officials preparing for what is shaping up to be a busy fire season.

"Certainly this spring fire season has the potential to be a fairly severe one," said Tim Sexton, the Superior National Forest's District Ranger in Cook.

Sexton met Thursday with colleagues stationed across the forest to coordinate their efforts for the upcoming season, including District Ranger Mark Van Every from Ely. Van Every helped oversee efforts to fight the huge Pagami Creek Fire last fall, which eventually scorched over 100,000 acres, mostly in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. He's already gearing up for this year.

"Normally we would not be starting our fire staffing where we have people assigned to be available to respond to a fire as their primary assignment, until sometime in April, and we're starting that actually today," Sexton said. "We'll have people that are assigned to fire engines and are prepared to roll on a short notice if we get fire reports."

DNR officials also have mobilized aircraft sooner than usual. Two helicopters and an air tanker are already available, two to three weeks earlier than a typical year. With ice already melting from lakes, water scoopers will arrive several weeks early.

Spring typically is the busiest part of Minnesota's fire season, when dry grass ignites easily and fire spreads fast. It's when the DNR dusts off its Smokey Bear radio spots.

"Most wildfires occur after the snow melts, in the spring, when the vegetation is dry," the spots remind visitors.

But Stoffel said that dryness is compounded this year, because of the condition of fallen tree branches and dry grasses.

"Because of the lack of snow, most of the grass is standing straight up, so it dries out faster and the fire goes through it faster," he said. "Then you compound that with the heavy fuels that normally probably wouldn't burn at this time of year, and they're going to burn as well."

In a typical year, spring grass fires will taper off as new plants start to grow and trees bud. But Van Every, the ranger, said that may not be the case this year if there aren't significant spring rains. Without it, he says plant growth can add to fire danger.

"It can tend to pull even more moisture out of the soil, or have very limited moisture going into those green plants," he said. "So they can be more like what we would find later in the summer, and can be more flammable as a result."

A lot hinges on spring rains. DNR fire officials say if we get normal rain, every four or five days, the state will probably see a normal fire season. But until then, Tom Fastlend, coordinator at Minnesota's Interagency Fire Center, said conditions are already very fire-prone.

"Last night I happened to be at a fire department down in Aitken and they had a number of people have fires get out of control, and again, the grasses, it was never packed low," he said. "It's standing high, and it's very dry, and even without a lot of wind, fires are spreading very quickly."

The DNR plans to implement burning restrictions across much of the state beginning March 26.

Van Every said unless the forest starts getting some moisture, there's a good possibility that fire restrictions may be put into effect there too.

Gallery

Kawishiwi District Wilderness Manager Carl Skustad looks at the burned forest near a campsite on Lake Three near Ely, Minn. on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. This site was severely burned, but likely will re-open next summer after crews remove dangerous "snags" -- dead trees that could topple down at any moment. Skustad said the burn area has "a different beauty to it, but it's still amazing."MPR Photo/Dan KrakerView full galleryScorched trees lay like pixie sticks near a campsite on Lake Three near Ely, Minn. on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. More than 100 campsites were within the burn area. Fifty of them, like this one, were severely impacted. But District Ranger Mark Van Every estimates only 5 to 10 will need to be closed next year.MPR Photo/Dan KrakerA jack pine's cones that opened up during the Pagami Creek Fire near Ely, Minn. on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011. Jack pine cones are sealed with a wax like substance, and need fire or very warm temperatures to open and release their seeds. Forest Ranger Mark Van Every says many jack pines in the Boundary Waters are reaching the end of their life span. This wildfire will help produce a new generation of trees.MPR Photo/Dan KrakerAn Ojibwe crew from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in Michigan works a line off Forest Road 356i north of Isabella, Minn., near the southern edge of the Pagami Creek Fire.Photo for MPR by Steve FossThis is the view that greets visitors at the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness entry at Isabella Lake. It was once a deep forest, but is now a charred landscape.Photo for MPR by Steve FossA crew from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community works a line off Forest Road 356i north of Isabella, Minn., near the southern edge of the Pagami Creek Fire.Photo for MPR by Steve FossCampsite #1 on Lake Insula was heavily damaged by the Pagami Creek fire.Photo courtesy Superior National ForestFirefighter John Schreiber of the Slide Mountain Hand Crew moves brush to a chipper that lined a remote forest road north of Isabella, Minn. while creating a fire line Thursday afternoon during continuing efforts to contain the Pagami Creek Fire.MPR Photo/Derek MontgomeryFirefighters clear brush and small trees from a remote forest road north of Isabella, Minn. while creating a fire line Thursday afternoon during continuing efforts to contain the Pagami Creek Fire.MPR Photo/Derek MontgomeryPlumes of smoke from the Pagami Creek fire rise over trees on White Iron Lake, just east of Ely, Minn. on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011.MPR Photo/Steve FossClouds and plumes of smoke from the Pagami Creek fire rise over trees over Garden Lake just east of Ely, Minn. on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011.MPR Photo/Steve FossPlumes of smoke from the Pagami Creek fire rise over trees on Tomahawk Road near Isabella, Minn. on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011.MPR Photo/Steve FossAfter several days of favorable weather, Friday brought less favorable conditions. A U.S. Forest Service official had predicted a "more active fire day" in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, where officials once said the blaze had consumed more than 160 square miles, or more than 100,000 acres.Special for MPR/Steve FossA view of the Pagami Creek Fire taken by MPR listener Bob Anderson shortly before he evacuated the area.Photo submitted to MPR from Bob AndersonA section of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness that burned during the Pagami Creek Fire on Thursday afternoon about 12 miles north of Isabella, Minn.MPR Photo/Derek Montgomery